{"id":5266,"date":"2026-02-27T04:20:38","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T22:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/?p=5266"},"modified":"2026-03-06T01:14:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T19:44:08","slug":"escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/","title":{"rendered":"Escalation policy for critical incidents"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When a <a href=\"https:\/\/spike.sh\/glossary\/critical-incident\/\">critical incident<\/a> triggers, there&#8217;s no time to figure out who to call. That decision needs to be made well before the incident arrives. A dedicated <a href=\"https:\/\/spike.sh\/blog\/what-is-an-escalation-policy\/\">escalation policy<\/a> for critical incidents gives your team a clear path to follow the moment things go wrong, rather than leaving it to whoever happens to be around. This guide covers the key decisions involved in building that policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Table of contents<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<nav aria-label=\"Table of Contents\" class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents\"><ol><li><a class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents__entry\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/#what-counts-as-a-critical-incident\">What counts as a critical incident<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents__entry\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/#why-critical-incidents-need-their-own-escalation-policy\">Why critical incidents need their own escalation policy<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents__entry\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/#who-belongs-in-the-escalation-chain\">Who to call when a critical incident triggers<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents__entry\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/#choosing-the-right-alert-channel\">Choosing the right alert channel<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents__entry\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/#how-long-to-wait-between-steps\">How long to wait between steps<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents__entry\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/#your-escalation-policy-will-change-over-time\">Your escalation policy will change over time<\/a><\/li><li><a class=\"wp-block-table-of-contents__entry\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/#faqs\">FAQs<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/nav>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"what-counts-as-a-critical-incident\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">What counts as a critical incident<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"what-counts-as-a-critical-incident\">Before you set up an escalation policy for critical incidents, you need a clear definition of what critical actually means for your team. Without that, two engineers will classify the same incident differently and your policy will behave inconsistently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A useful question to start with is which incident would wake you up at 3am? That&#8217;s your critical incident. <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A payment API going down, an authentication service failing during peak hours, or a database becoming unreachable are good examples. Incidents that wouldn&#8217;t pull you out of bed at 3am (low-priority incidents) belong in a default escalation policy instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once that line exists, the rest follows naturally. Your critical incident policy has a clear entry point and your default policy handles everything else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"why-critical-incidents-need-their-own-escalation-policy\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why critical incidents need their own escalation policy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A default escalation policy works well for most incidents but critical incidents are different. The <a href=\"https:\/\/spike.sh\/blog\/incident-response-for-devops-sres-and-it-teams\/\">response<\/a> window is tight and the cost of nobody picking up is high. Routing them through the same policy as everything else is a risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A dedicated critical incident policy removes the guesswork.<\/strong> It gives your team a clear, pre-decided path to follow the moment a critical incident triggers. Nobody has to decide in the moment who to call or how long to wait. That decision was already made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It also sets the right expectations. When your team knows a critical incident triggers a phone call within five minutes, they treat it with a different level of urgency than a Slack message that might get seen an hour later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"who-belongs-in-the-escalation-chain\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who to call when a critical incident triggers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Critical incidents are situations where speed and collective awareness matter more than anything else. Rather than alerting one person and waiting to see if they respond, teams prefer to call the entire engineering team the moment a critical incident triggers. Everyone is looped in from the start and the team works on the incident together rather than sequentially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A policy structured this way might look something like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Step 1:<\/strong> Phone call to the entire engineering team<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Step 2:<\/strong> Phone call to the CTO<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Step 3:<\/strong> Phone call to the incident communicator<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"843\" height=\"773\" data-attachment-id=\"5410\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/screenshot-2026-03-06-at-1-03-41-am\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-03-06-at-1.03.41-AM.png\" data-orig-size=\"843,773\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Screenshot 2026-03-06 at 1.03.41\u202fAM\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-03-06-at-1.03.41-AM-300x275.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-03-06-at-1.03.41-AM.png\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-03-06-at-1.03.41-AM.png\" alt=\"Escalation policy for critical incidents (created on Spike)\" class=\"wp-image-5410\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-03-06-at-1.03.41-AM.png 843w, https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-03-06-at-1.03.41-AM-300x275.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-03-06-at-1.03.41-AM-768x704.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 843px) 100vw, 843px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Escalation policy for critical incidents (created on <a href=\"https:\/\/spike.sh\" type=\"link\" id=\"spike.sh\">Spike<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>You can set up such an escalation policy on Spike in a few minutes. <a href=\"https:\/\/app.spike.sh\/signup\" type=\"link\" id=\"app.spike.sh\/signup\">Try now \u2192<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The engineering team usually handles the resolution. The steps that follow are about keeping the right people informed as the incident unfolds. The CTO needs to know that a critical incident is active. <a href=\"https:\/\/spike.sh\/glossary\/stakeholder\/\">Stakeholders<\/a> may need to communicate with customers or coordinate a response outside the engineering team. Each step serves a different purpose and together they make sure the right people are aware at the right time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"has-background wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"border-top-left-radius:9px;border-top-right-radius:9px;border-bottom-left-radius:9px;border-bottom-right-radius:9px;background-color:#cacfd7\">One thing worth deciding early is who can classify an incident as critical in the first place. Calling the entire engineering team is a high-signal action and it&#8217;s worth keeping that reserved for incidents that genuinely need it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"choosing-the-right-alert-channel\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Choosing the right alert channel<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>For critical incidents, a phone call is the right choice.<\/strong> It&#8217;s the only channel that demands attention the moment it comes in, regardless of what the responder is doing or where they are at that point in time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other channels like Slack or email work well for lower-priority incidents where awareness matters more than an immediate response. For a critical incident though, waiting for someone to notice a message is a risk your team probably doesn&#8217;t want to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There&#8217;s also a broader reason to keep phone calls reserved for critical incidents. When phone calls go out for every incident regardless of severity, your team gradually starts to treat them as routine. Keeping them exclusive to critical incidents means the signal stays strong and everyone on the team knows exactly what it means when their phone rings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"how-long-to-wait-between-steps\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">How long to wait between steps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Taking the earlier example as a reference, when a critical incident triggers, the engineering team gets called right away. There&#8217;s no delay at that point. The wait time only comes into play for the steps that follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The second step, calling the CTO, is purely about keeping them informed. A 10 to 15-minute gap before that call usually works well. It gives the engineering team a reasonable window to acknowledge and start working on the incident before the next step kicks in. The same thinking applies to any steps after that. Critical incidents move fast and the people who need to be informed should hear about it reasonably early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"your-escalation-policy-will-change-over-time\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Your escalation policy will change over time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Your first critical incident escalation policy probably won&#8217;t be your last. Teams change, systems grow and what counts as critical today might look different a year from now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The important thing is to have something in place rather than waiting for the perfect version. <strong>Set up an escalation policy that reflects where your team is today and edit it as you learn.<\/strong> The policies that work best are usually the ones that have been adjusted a few times based on real incidents rather than built once and left untouched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"faqs\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">FAQs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>What&#8217;s the difference between a critical incident escalation policy and a default escalation policy?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A default escalation policy is built for most incidents where a reasonable response time is acceptable. A critical incident policy is built around speed and awareness. The steps, wait times, and alert channels are all calibrated for situations where the cost of a slow response is high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Should a small team have a critical incident escalation policy?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes, and it&#8217;s usually simpler. In a small team, a single step often covers everything. One phone call goes out to the whole team, which already includes the founder, senior leads, and anyone else who needs to know. Everyone is aware from the start and the team takes it from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Should every service have its own critical incident policy?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not necessarily. Many teams run a single critical incident policy that covers all their services. A service-specific policy makes more sense when different services have genuinely different response requirements or separate teams responsible for them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getting your escalation policy for critical incidents right takes a few careful decisions upfront. This guide helps you work through them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":263547072,"featured_media":5391,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_import_markdown_pro_load_document_selector":0,"_import_markdown_pro_submit_text_textarea":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvYmxvZy5zcGlrZS5zaFwvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNlwvMDJcL0Jhc2ljcy1vZi1JbmNpZGVudC1NYW5hZ2VtZW50LTktMTAyNHg1NTUucG5nIiwidHh0IjoiRXNjYWxhdGlvbiBwb2xpY3kgZm9yIGNyaXRpY2FsIGluY2lkZW50cyIsInRlbXBsYXRlIjoiaGlnaHdheSIsImZvbnQiOiIiLCJibG9nX2lkIjoyMzMxMzg5MDB9.qqudeLnxZ_R4CYS6tB45wY0dI9LWnwVOXnnaPGGyLzcMQ"},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[1467],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guides"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Escalation policy for critical incidents<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An escalation policy for critical incidents needs careful thought. This guide covers who to include, how to reach them and how long to wait.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Escalation policy for critical incidents\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An escalation policy for critical incidents needs careful thought. This guide covers who to include, how to reach them and how long to wait.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Spike&#039;s blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-26T22:50:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-05T19:44:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-9.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1128\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sreekar\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sreekar\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sreekar\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eb31f40342cbe6a94ef67a1c0bf20923\"},\"headline\":\"Escalation policy for critical incidents\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-26T22:50:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-05T19:44:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1131,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-9.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Guides\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\\\/\",\"name\":\"Escalation policy for critical incidents\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-9.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-26T22:50:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-05T19:44:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eb31f40342cbe6a94ef67a1c0bf20923\"},\"description\":\"An escalation policy for critical incidents needs careful thought. This guide covers who to include, how to reach them and how long to wait.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-9.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-9.png\",\"width\":2080,\"height\":1128},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Escalation policy for critical incidents\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/\",\"name\":\"Spike&#039;s blog\",\"description\":\"Learnings and opinions in a changing world\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eb31f40342cbe6a94ef67a1c0bf20923\",\"name\":\"Sreekar\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/cb2a2f53f3fd9e9619b7d3aaca20588e6101b5d239f52e0137823bd5d6cd0941?s=96&d=robohash&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/cb2a2f53f3fd9e9619b7d3aaca20588e6101b5d239f52e0137823bd5d6cd0941?s=96&d=robohash&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/cb2a2f53f3fd9e9619b7d3aaca20588e6101b5d239f52e0137823bd5d6cd0941?s=96&d=robohash&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sreekar\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.spike.sh\\\/author\\\/sreekar98\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Escalation policy for critical incidents","description":"An escalation policy for critical incidents needs careful thought. This guide covers who to include, how to reach them and how long to wait.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Escalation policy for critical incidents","og_description":"An escalation policy for critical incidents needs careful thought. This guide covers who to include, how to reach them and how long to wait.","og_url":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/","og_site_name":"Spike&#039;s blog","article_published_time":"2026-02-26T22:50:38+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-03-05T19:44:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2080,"height":1128,"url":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-9.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Sreekar","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sreekar","Estimated reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/"},"author":{"name":"Sreekar","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/#\/schema\/person\/eb31f40342cbe6a94ef67a1c0bf20923"},"headline":"Escalation policy for critical incidents","datePublished":"2026-02-26T22:50:38+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-05T19:44:08+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/"},"wordCount":1131,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-9.png","articleSection":["Guides"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/","name":"Escalation policy for critical incidents","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-9.png","datePublished":"2026-02-26T22:50:38+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-05T19:44:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/#\/schema\/person\/eb31f40342cbe6a94ef67a1c0bf20923"},"description":"An escalation policy for critical incidents needs careful thought. This guide covers who to include, how to reach them and how long to wait.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-9.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-9.png","width":2080,"height":1128},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-critical-incidents\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Escalation policy for critical incidents"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/","name":"Spike&#039;s blog","description":"Learnings and opinions in a changing world","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/#\/schema\/person\/eb31f40342cbe6a94ef67a1c0bf20923","name":"Sreekar","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cb2a2f53f3fd9e9619b7d3aaca20588e6101b5d239f52e0137823bd5d6cd0941?s=96&d=robohash&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cb2a2f53f3fd9e9619b7d3aaca20588e6101b5d239f52e0137823bd5d6cd0941?s=96&d=robohash&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cb2a2f53f3fd9e9619b7d3aaca20588e6101b5d239f52e0137823bd5d6cd0941?s=96&d=robohash&r=g","caption":"Sreekar"},"url":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/author\/sreekar98\/"}]}},"modified_by":"Sreekar","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-9.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfMe4Q-1mW","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":335,"url":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/getting-started-on-alerts-with-escalation-policy\/","url_meta":{"origin":5266,"position":0},"title":"Getting Started on Alerts with Escalation Policies","author":"Gurneet Kaur","date":"23rd October, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Discover the key to effective incident management \u2013 setting up alert escalation policies. Learn how to get started with our step-by-step guide to ensure timely responses and minimal downtime during critical incidents.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Alerts&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Alerts","link":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/category\/incident-management\/alerts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Getting-started-on-alerts-with-Escalation-Policies.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Getting-started-on-alerts-with-Escalation-Policies.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Getting-started-on-alerts-with-Escalation-Policies.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Getting-started-on-alerts-with-Escalation-Policies.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5246,"url":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policy-for-low-priority-incidents\/","url_meta":{"origin":5266,"position":1},"title":"Escalation policy for low-priority incidents","author":"Sreekar","date":"26th February, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"This guide walks through low-priority incidents, why they need attention, and how to setup an escalation policy for them.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Guides&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Guides","link":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/category\/guides\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-10.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-10.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-10.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-10.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-10.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-10.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5652,"url":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/alert-routing-setup-that-never-misses-critical-incidents\/","url_meta":{"origin":5266,"position":2},"title":"Building an Alert Routing setup that never misses a critical incident","author":"Sreekar","date":"29th March, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Critical incidents need to reach the right person the moment they trigger. This guide covers how to set up an alert routing system that make sure they always do.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Guides&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Guides","link":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/category\/guides\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/OpsGenie-Shutdown_-Everything-You-Need-To-Know-5.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/OpsGenie-Shutdown_-Everything-You-Need-To-Know-5.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/OpsGenie-Shutdown_-Everything-You-Need-To-Know-5.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/OpsGenie-Shutdown_-Everything-You-Need-To-Know-5.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/OpsGenie-Shutdown_-Everything-You-Need-To-Know-5.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/OpsGenie-Shutdown_-Everything-You-Need-To-Know-5.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5468,"url":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/turning-team-knowledge-into-alert-routing-rules\/","url_meta":{"origin":5266,"position":3},"title":"Turning team knowledge into Alert Routing rules","author":"Sreekar","date":"12th March, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Your team knows incidents inside out. This guide walks you through four ways to build Alert Routing rules from that knowledge.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Guides&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Guides","link":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/category\/guides\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/OpsGenie-Shutdown_-Everything-You-Need-To-Know-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/OpsGenie-Shutdown_-Everything-You-Need-To-Know-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/OpsGenie-Shutdown_-Everything-You-Need-To-Know-1.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/OpsGenie-Shutdown_-Everything-You-Need-To-Know-1.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/OpsGenie-Shutdown_-Everything-You-Need-To-Know-1.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/OpsGenie-Shutdown_-Everything-You-Need-To-Know-1.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5234,"url":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/compass-for-setting-up-escalation-policy\/","url_meta":{"origin":5266,"position":4},"title":"A compass for setting up your escalation policy","author":"Sreekar","date":"26th February, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"There's no single way to set up an escalation policy. This guide walks through five approaches and helps you figure out which combination fits your team.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Guides&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Guides","link":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/category\/guides\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-1-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-1-3.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-1-3.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-1-3.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-1-3.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Basics-of-Incident-Management-1-3.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3011,"url":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/escalation-policies-everything-you-need-to-know\/","url_meta":{"origin":5266,"position":5},"title":"Escalation Policies: Everything You Need to Know","author":"Sreekar","date":"27th August, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"When incidents strike, your on-call engineer jumps in first. They assess the issue, triage it, and try to resolve it. But sometimes, they can\u2019t solve the problem or aren\u2019t available. That's when escalation policies step in to find the right backup. In this guide, I've explained how escalation policies work,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Escalation Policies&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Escalation Policies","link":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/category\/incident-management\/escalation-policies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Blog cover image titled \"Escalation Policies: Everything You Need to Know\"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Incident-Management-Is-A-Team-Responsibility-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Incident-Management-Is-A-Team-Responsibility-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Incident-Management-Is-A-Team-Responsibility-1.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Incident-Management-Is-A-Team-Responsibility-1.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Incident-Management-Is-A-Team-Responsibility-1.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Incident-Management-Is-A-Team-Responsibility-1.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/263547072"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5266"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5266\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5414,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5266\/revisions\/5414"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.spike.sh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}